I worked with a wonderful woman with a big heart, and she asked me to anonymously tell her story in hopes that it might affect someone else’s life. Before I delve into my recap of her situation, I want to share some Self-Storage Industry statistics with you… 

First, did you know that consumers spent a combined total of $29 BILLION dollars on self storage in 2016? (IBISWorld)

Some other interesting facts, ordered by year: 

• In 2009, there were 58,000 storage facilities worldwide, and 46,000 of those were located in the U.S… At that point, it was a 6.6 billion dollar industry (Wikipedia). 

• By 2013, the self storage industry had 24 billion dollars in revenue (Self Storage Associates). 

• In 2014, the self storage industry had 27.2 billion dollars in revenue (US Census data).

• By 2018, IBISWorld predicts that self storage will be a $30.5 billion dollar industry. 

 

Now onto my client’s story: 

One evening, a woman in her late 20’s called me. She explained that her and her siblings were worried about their mother, who was struggling to afford her apartment in conjunction with having to pay for her two off-site self storage facilities.

The woman explained to me that she felt the storage units were a waste of money. Each unit broke down to $268 per month. In total, her mother was paying $6,432 per year to house her excess items. She didn’t feel that there was anything of value in either unit, but her mother felt differently. She asked me for a package deal to come help. I was intrigued, but requested to talk to her mother to get her permission first.

For anonymity, I’ve changed her name, but let’s call her mother Cindy. I called Cindy, and she reluctantly agreed to meet with me. We met at the storage unit, and she showed me with pride what was inside. I questioned her about each of the items- there were some statues, party supplies, trinkets, adult and baby clothes, a vintage wedding gown, lots of pens and office supplies, lamps, electronics, and home decorations.

She clearly loved her two statues, but she couldn’t think of a place in her apartment that they would look good. Hence, she explained that she had to keep them in storage. The other items, were for “someday” use.

We added up the retail cost of the items. A lot of the items still had sales tags on them, so that was pretty time-consuming, but easy. It turned out that the cost that she had paid for all of the items equaled three months of rent for that one storage unit. She frowned when she saw the total. We started talking about if the cost was worth it (everything but the statues and vintage wedding dress could be easily accessible at a low cost- a cost lower than the storage unit itself over the course of a year).

Then we talked about when she would realistically use them. There were a lot of “what ifs”, but no concrete dates for parties, new home decorating, office supply usage.

We talked about how she could better use the money. The cost of this particular storage unit was approximately $3,216 per year. Both storage units were costing her $6,432 per year. If she had $6,432 to spend on anything in her pocket right now, what would it be on? She wasn’t sure- Shopping? Rent? 

She had kept mentioning her grandson, talking about him with love. We came up with an idea- what if she opened a savings account, and helped toward his tuition with the $6,432. Even with condensing the two units and just getting rid of one, we could save $3,216 per year. Over the course of five years, she would have $16,080. By the time her grandson was 18 years old, she would have $51,456 plus interest.

As we talked about it, her eyes lit up at the prospect of helping her grandson so much. We talked about how $268 didn’t seem like much, but over the course of time, the figure was pretty incredible. It wouldn’t hurt to try, so she agreed to try her best to condense two units into one.

There were two factors for her still holding her back (which we figured out at a coffee shop down the street), and addressed before we started. The first factor was common- this excess stuff was filling a void of being needed. She would come to the storage facility at least twice a week to take care of the stuff- organize it, clean it, sort it. Her three children were grown up, married, had their own lives, and a part of her wanted to feel needed. A lot of people fill their voids with possessions, and this is a common reason some of us accumulate clutter.

The second factor was that she had paid good money for the items, cared for them, and had become emotionally attached to them. Therefore, she didn’t want to donate the items, because she didn’t know where the items were going- whether they would be useful, appreciated, and taken care of. This is also a common reason to hold onto clutter.

For reason number one, we decided that even though this was filling a void of being needed, she could be so much more useful somewhere else with her big heart. Volunteering locally and forming new connections in the process might be a better way to be needed and give back to the community. Also, the storage facilities were causing a rift between her and her children. If she let at least one go, her relationship with her children might improve.

For reason number two, she told me that she wanted to make sure that these items were being put to good use, and if she could see that she was helping someone in the process, she would be willing to part with them. This was more important to her than selling the items. But she needed to see this happen before she let go. We decided on an unconventional method- that instead of donating the items, we would sell some items, and give the rest away personally.

We met several days later and went through each item in her storage unit. I would hand each item to her and we would discuss each item and then put it into their designated piles: Sell, Giveaway, Keep, Trash. We would look at each item as I questioned the history, her attachment level, the necessity, the possibility of future use, and if the item contributed to her happiness.

At the beginning of the day, it was a bit emotional, and I felt her pain as she was struggling with letting go of things. When I help a client, I take on their items as if they were my own as well, and go through the letting go process with them, and it’s not easy at times. This way, I can see the item through their eyes and assign a value to the item, while still keeping an objective eye, because I am never fully them.

By the afternoon, we had picked up a second wind, and she was letting go of items that she didn’t need or plan to use again with relative ease in waves, then it would get difficult again. After we had gone through every item, we went through all of the Keep items again- more went into the Giveaway pile. After one full 12 hour day of going through her storage unit, one item at a time, we had a small Sell pile, large Giveaway pile, medium Keep pile, and a small Trash pile.

We stared at the piles with the light that was illuminating the storage area. The outside had gotten dark already. I pulled my car up, and we loaded up my trunk and backseats to the brim with the giveaway pile. Tomorrow, we were going to meet to drive around and give the items away.

I met her at her apartment the next day around 11am. Before getting in the car, she took a peek through the pile. Some items she laughed at keeping for so long, but other items made her uneasy, and she insisted on taking six items into her apartment. They were her things, so I agreed, and just to guide her, asked her about each item and what the value was to her, and what she was planning on using them for. She put one item back in the car, and took the rest into her apartment.

Unconventional, I know, but we went to a neighborhood in East LA that she used to live in decades ago. If people were in their yards, we would pull over and introduce ourselves. Once a conversation was started, we would ask them if there was anything that they could use that we might have. One woman was happy to take the baby clothes off of our hands and introduced us to her baby daughter, who would wear them. Cindy’s eyes sparkled at the thought of a good and useful home for the clothes. It was so much better than them sitting in the storage unit.

A man took a blender off our our hands, another woman took some picture frames for her apartment. Toward the end of the day, a family took our party supplies- unopened cups, boxed plastic cutlery, paper plates, streamers, and balloons. We stopped by a small tax firm and asked if they wanted office supplies. They were surprised at first, but took them happily- the owner, a man came out and thanked us, shaking our hands and giving her a hug. She teared up in the car. I kind of did as well.

By the early evening, we were exhausted and happy, and took the remaining items (which only filled up 1/4 of my trunk to Goodwill) before heading back to her apartment. As Cindy invited me in and made coffee, I made a list of All The People You Made Happy Today, and wrote out the people we gave stuff to and what we gave out on the lined paper according to a combination of the notes on my phone and my memory.

We drank our coffees, tired, happy, and recounting the day. I know that I’ve mentioned it a couple of times, but she has such a big heart, and was so happy with the outcome. We talked about her stuff having a good home, and in hindsight, she reasoned as she went down the list, that she wouldn’t actually be using the majority of the items that she gave away. We talked about how we have a tendency to save things for “someday”, but in many instances,  “someday” rarely comes.

Just a note that we were careful not to unload our clutter on everyone else- we had agreed early in the morning that we would talk to them, and give away a little at a time, based on what they could actually use. Furthermore, we used our due diligence at all times, and kept alert of our safety throughout the day. It was an adventure outside of the box, and a fulfilling one at that.

The next week, we met at her other storage unit and went through a very similar process, spending one full day going through her possessions, and then meeting at 8am the next day to give away possessions- this time near the shopping district in downtown LA. Again, we exercised due diligence in regards to safety all day and went on another adventure.

We stopped by a women’s shelter, because this unit had several boxes of women’s clothes that she had no need for. We had kitchen gadgets, more party supplies, dvd’s, shoes, home decor, jackets, blankets, and vinyls. We gave the jackets and blankets to a homeless man who threw them all on his cart, promising to give the extras to some people he knew who could definitely use them. We stopped in Hollywood at a record shop and sold most of the vinyls. We ended up making two additional trips back to the storage unit because we couldn’t fit all the Giveaway items, then at the end of the day, we gave the remaining items (which filled up half of my trunk) to the Salvation Army.

The following day, we condensed her things into one unit. It took us six days to clear out one storage unit, but over the course of one year, she would save $3,216. Over the course of five years, she would save $16,080. And all the things we gave away were items carefully sorted through and double checked, to make sure that they didn’t actually add value to her life anymore. The savings account has been opened, and last month, she put her first $268 in there. Her children were so happy, they invited the both of us to dinner to celebrate. The best part is that Cindy felt like there was a huge load off of her (literally, there was).

Hopefully, we brightened some other people’s days in the process, even in just the exchange of kindness. Cindy was so proud of herself, as she should be, since letting go is rarely easy. We agreed we would leave it this way for now, and I would follow up with her in 3 months to see if she wants to try the same with her existing unit, or if we could try to downsize it to a smaller unit. I will update you if it happens, and do a part 2 of this story.

Thank you for reading about this experience. 

If you have a friend or family member, or if you yourself have a storage unit, determine the cost over the course of a year, and if everything in the storage unit is worth it. If you rarely see the items, or if you won’t actually use them in the foreseeable future, consider going through the process of decluttering.

Even if it’s in our homes, or off-site, I’m a firm believer that excess items that aren’t used, needed, or loved can weigh on us- whether it be financially, emotionally, or or time-wise.

There’s a theory in Feng Shui that everything that you own is attached to you by a string. The more stuff that you have, the more the strings get tangled and muddled, blocking new opportunities from coming into your life. Consider clearing out the excess to make room for new opportunities to flow into your life.